Find Your "Appiness"

Visiting the Happiest Place on Earth just got better!

Over the past few months, Disney has been creating, improving and utilizing their apps in their theme parks. We've all come to know and love (or hate) our apps on our smart phones and most likely use them on a daily basis. You may even be using one right now to read this.

Disneyland released their parks app a few years ago and it has grown into a "must-have" app for anyone visiting the parks. In the beginning the main reason people downloaded the app was so they could check the official wait times for the various attractions throughout the parks. This was and still is a primary function for many and is great for you to be able to plan you day in the park and provides other useful information that links to other features as well.

Those other features include booking dining reservations, purchasing and using the new Disney MaxPass system, mobile ordering from select locations, downloading pictures from the Disney PhotoPass service and finding your favorite characters to name a few.

MaxPass

Recently Marzz and I purchased a 1-day use Disney MaxPass option on our trip to the parks

on July 4th. It cost us $10.00 USD per person, tax included so it came to an even $20.00, which I was able to purchase via the Disney app. Before we made this purchase we ensured that both of our annual passes were scanned or their pass ID# entered into the app. The way we have it set up is that both Marzz and I each have each others passes in the app on each of our phones. So even though I made this purchase, which as you can see in the screenshot to the right, included both of our passes; Marzz could have easily made the purchase as well. So it doesn't matter who makes the purchase as long as everyone in the party is linked in the app. If you're traveling with another group and they also purchase or already have the MaxPass added to their account, you may link the entire group together and book fast passes for everyone. It only took us a couple of minutes to make this purchase since we already had our passes entered into the app and a method of payment attached to my account, it was fast and simple. Once we made the purchase, the app immediately

reflected the purchase by showing us a bar code for the Disney PhotoPass, which allowed the PhotoPass cast members to scan after taking our photos throughout the park. It also allowed us to book fast passes straight from the mobile app without having to physically walk to the fast pass distribution locations. We purchased the Disney MaxPass while standing in line for a photo spot right at the main entrance to Disneyland in front of the train station. The fast pass that I booked was for the new Incredicoaster all the way over in DCA and I was able to do it without losing my place in line and it only took a matter of seconds!

It was 8:46am when we booked the fast pass and as you can see from the screenshot to the left, the same fast pass rules apply for MaxPass just as they always had for fast passes.

If you don't know, the rule is once you book a fast pass, you are eligible for another fast pass after you use the one you just booked OR after 90 minutes, whichever is sooner. In our case, since our fast pass return times were from 10:45am-11:45am and it was only 8:46am, you can see from the screenshot that it tells us that we're eligible for another fast pass after 10:16am, which is 90 minutes from the time we booked it.

A quick note, I mentioned this in our last blog but I think it's worth mentioning again. The wifi in the parks is still something of a work in progress. In certain areas it works fine, but throughout much of the parks, we find that we have weak wifi signals or no wifi signal; which means we are using data for this. Now granted, booking this fast pass literally took 30 seconds or less, since we knew exactly which attraction we wanted and didn't care what the return time was, so it was quick and easy. If you log in and are not sure which attraction you want, it gives you a full list of all available attractions and what their return times are. It's very easy to use and does not take much longer, but I suppose for argument sake, it's worth noting that it does probably add on some extra time, even if that equates to only a few more seconds.

I cannot stress enough how great it felt to know we secured fast passes for The Incredicoaster while standing in Disneyland. The fact that we didn't have to enter DCA and then walk all the way to Pixar Pier not only saved us time, but saved us from the walk. This alone was well worth the $10/person, and for those wondering, if you have an annual pass, you can either purchase the annual pass which comes with the MaxPass option, which is called the Disney Signature Plus Passport and also has zero block-out dates for $1,149.00/person. You may also add the MaxPass for $75.00/person and it is valid for the entire time you pass is valid; so if you're going to do this option, to get the best value for your money, we recommend purchasing this add-on at the time of purchase or renewal of your annual pass.

Another quick note, there is technically no limit per day on how many you can book/redeem. The only limits you'll have is that as fast passes are issued from the time the park opens, the return times adjust back in 5 minute increments as "x" amount of passes are distributed. So naturally, there will be a point where the fast pass return times cannot push back any further. At that point is when that attraction will no longer be available to choose from to book a fast pass. Also, if it is a busy day and your fast passes all are beyond 90 minutes from your booking time, mathematically you'll also be limited on how many you can book/redeem for the day. Beyond that there is no limits and if you play you cards right, you can save a ton of time and conquer quite a few attractions in one day.

We continued using the MaxPass to book fast passes for the remainder of our day. We even booked a couple that we ended up not using. Should you book a fast pass then decide you're not going to use it or you no longer wish to ride that attraction, you may cancel the fast pass using the app and by doing so will instantly make you eligible to replace it by booking another fast pass for any available attractions.

Mobile Ordering

My next favorite thing about the updated app is mobile ordering. This service allows you to use the same app to order food from select quick service locations and purchase right from your mobile device then head straight to the pickup window, bypassing the line altogether. Certainly for anyone who has visited the parks before, just the sentence "bypassing the line" should immediately grab your attention.

This new feature is fantastic! Marzz and I have tried it a couple of times and each time has been a positive experience. We know for a fact it saved us at least 15-20 minutes minimum

by not standing in the regular line. It still applied our annual pass discount since our passes are linked to our accounts in the app. We waited no longer than 5 minutes and in fact that's probably too long; we actually waited around 3 minutes from the time we ordered to the time our mobile order number was called out from the pickup window. Now to be fair, the two times we've used this mobile ordering were both at the Corn Dog Castle in DCA. The first time was during the lunch hour and the second was a night, during the Paint the Night Parade. Both times the line filled the entire roped queue area and continued out the back a few people longer. We estimated the regular line to be at least 20 minutes.

When using the app, if your annual pass holders and have your pass(es) entered into the app, it should automatically apply the AP discount to your order. We had one experience where it did not but so far we feel that was a fluke and have not had that happen again.

We intend on continuing to use the mobile ordering and try out other locations. It hasn't taken long for us to already be in the habit when we go to get food to check first if they offer mobile ordering. We both feel this is an excellent service option, it's very easy to use and allows us more time to seek a table or seating area prior to picking up our food. For those of you who have yet to try the mobile ordering, we highly encourage you to do so and let us know your thoughts on your experience in the comments section, we'd love to hear what others are saying about it.

Disney Play App

Lastly I wanted to just touch on the new Disney Play App that was released just a few

weeks ago. This is a separate app from the Disney Parks app mentioned above, but it is also free to download. The Disney Play app is designed to fill the time that you're waiting in line by giving you fun options to play by yourself or with the group you are with.

The app works for both Disneyland and DCA as well as the Walt Disney World parks. There are some fun trivia games that give you the option to choose how many people are playing. One thing to note, if you choose multiple players, all players use that one device, it's not setup where each individual can connect via the internet or Bluetooth or anything. But the trivia is okay, the only downside is we found it repeating questions a bit too often which took some of the fun out of it.

Another option in the app is being able to listen to the theme park music of different areas of the park. Let me mention the trivia and music work whether or not you are at the parks which is a fun option for those of you who wish to sharpen your trivia skills or enjoy the theme park music from your home.

Now specifically Peter Pan has an interactive element to it if you're using the Disney Play app. Marzz and I have yet to try it out, but we've heard about it. The gist of the interactive queue is a scavenger hunt while you're in the queue and after you find all of the items you should also find yourself next to a lantern in the queue. At that point you click that you're finished and while standing in proximity to the lantern, it activates something special in it. Elements like this already exist in Walt Disney World but it is great to see those coming to Disneyland and hopefully it's just the beginning.

We think the addition of interactive queues and the use of apps to enhance the experience in the parks is a major step forward. Although no specific details have emerged, we can't help but think these are all leading up to some big reveals regarding the new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land that will be opening next year and is said to have the ability to track you as a guest and keep a running tally of your rides and choices on those rides as to whether or not you'll be seen as a rebel, a member of the empire or perhaps something in between? I hope they continue adding elements like this as I believe it truly is an added bonus with very little effort on our part as the guests. The app itself doesn't take up much space on your phone and thus far seems to work well. We'll be anxiously awaiting to see the evolution of this app and what might be in store for the future of interactive queues and experiences.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog, we hope you've enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave us feedback via the comments section and let us know what you think, what we can improve and even what topics you'd like to see us cover. Take care!